Washing machine

ABSTRACT

A washing machine having a driving motor provided with a stator unit, which is formed in a shape of a ring, having a rotator unit disposed at an inner side thereof and a bearing housing configured to install the driving motor, the bearing housing fixed at a rear surface of the water tub through an insert injection molding, thereby able to maintain a stable state of being installed at the water tub.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0097993, filed on Sep. 28, 2011 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a washing machine having an inner-rotor-type driving motor provided with a rotator unit disposed at an inner side of a stator unit thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

A washing machine includes a body forming an exterior, a water tub installed at an inside the body in a suspended manner, a rotating tub rotatably installed at an inside the water tub, and a driving motor disposed at a rear surface of the water tub and configured to rotate the rotating tub.

The driving motor includes a stator unit provided with a plurality of coils disposed in a circumferential direction, a rotator unit provided with a plurality of magnet disposed in a circumferential direction and interacting with the plurality of coils of the stator unit so as to rotate while interacting with the stator unit, and a rotating shaft having one end penetrated through the water tub and connected to a central side of a rear surface of the rotating tub while having the other end fixed to a center of the rotator unit.

A driving motor used in a washing machine, an outer-rotor-type driving motor provided with a stator unit disposed at an inner side thereof and a rotator unit disposed at an outer side thereof is being used. Recently, an inner-rotor-type driving motor is being applied, and the inner-rotor-type driving motor is provided with a stator unit, which is formed in a shape of an ring, having a rotator unit disposed at an inner side thereof to obtain higher driving force while having a same size.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a washing machine having a bearing housing suitable for an installation of an inner-rotor-type driving motor provided with a stator unit, which is formed in a shape of a ring, having a rotator unit disposed at an inner side thereof.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a washing machine comprises a body, a water tub, a rotating tub, a driving motor, and a bearing housing. The water tub may be installed inside the body to contain water. The rotating tub may be rotatably installed inside the water tub. The driving motor may be configured to generate a rotating force to rotate the rotating tub. The bearing housing may be formed through an insert molding at a rear surface of the water tub and provided with the driving motor installed therein. The driving motor may include a stator unit formed in a shape of a ring, a rotator unit disposed at an inner side of the stator unit to rotate while interacting with the stator unit, and a rotating shaft having one end thereof connected to the rotating tub while the other end thereof connected to a center of the rotator unit. The bearing housing may include a housing part formed in a shape of a ring and provided with a bearing installed at an inner circumferential surface thereof so as to rotatably support the rotating shaft, a flange part extended from the housing part radially and outwardly and provided with the driving motor fixed thereto, and a plurality of fastening parts integrally extended from a periphery of the flange part to a rear side of the flange part and provided with the stator unit fastened thereto while being spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction.

Each of the plurality of fastening parts is provided with a first fastening hole thereto for the fastening of the stator unit.

The stator unit may include a second fastening hole provided at a position corresponding to the first fastening hole.

The fastening part may be protruded beyond a rear surface of the water tub, and an adjacent area of the fastening part may include a supporting part positioned in the same plane as the rear surface of the water tub.

The supporting part may be supported by a surface of a mold configured to form the water tub.

The bearing housing may include a plurality of first reinforcing ribs extending from the flange part in a radial direction thereof.

The bearing housing may include at least one second reinforcing rib formed at the flange part in the circumferential direction.

One of the at least one second reinforcing rib may be formed at a periphery side of the flange part to connect the fastening parts to each other so that the fastening parts are supported by each other.

In accordance with another aspect, a washing machine includes a body, a water tub, a rotating tub, a driving motor and a bearing housing. The water tub may be installed at an inside the body to contain water. The rotating tub may be rotatably installed at an inside the water tub. The driving motor may be configured to generate a rotating force to rotate the rotating tub. The bearing housing may be integrally formed through an insert molding at a rear surface of the water tub and provided with the driving motor installed therein. The driving motor may include a stator unit formed in a shape of a ring, a rotator unit disposed at an inner side of the stator unit to rotate while interacting with the stator unit, and a rotating shaft having one end thereof connected to the rotating tub while the other end thereof connected to a center of the rotator unit.

As described above, a washing machine includes a driving motor provided with a stator unit, which is formed in a shape of a ring, having a rotator unit disposed at an inner side thereof, and a bearing housing for an installation of the driving motor, and the bearing housing is integrally formed with a rear surface of a water tub through injection molding, thereby able to maintain a stable state while installed at the water tub.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a washing machine according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a driving motor and a bearing housing applied to the washing machine according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view illustrating a driving motor and a bearing housing applied to the washing machine according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates the bearing housing applied to the washing machine according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the bearing housing, which is applied to the washing machine, disposed to a mold that is configured to form a water tub.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of an “A” section of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

A washing machine according to an embodiment as illustrated on FIG. 1 includes a body 10 forming an external appearance, a water tub 20 installed at an inside the body 10 in a suspended manner and configured to contain water. A rotating tub 30 rotatably installed at an inside the water tub 20, and a driving motor 40 installed at a rear surface of the water tub 20 so as to generate a rotating force to rotate the rotating tub 30.

In order for a laundry to be input into an inside the rotating tub 30 through the body 10 and the water tub 20, the body 10 is provided at a front surface thereof with a first inlet 10 a. The water tub 20 is provided at a front surface thereof with a second inlet 20 a and the rotating tub 30 is provided at a front surface with a third inlet 30 a. The body 10 is provided with a door 50 rotatably installed at one side of the front surface to open/close the first inlet 10 a.

The water tub 20 is provided at the rear surface with a bearing housing 60 disposed thereto for the installation of the driving motor 40. The water supply pipe 11 is provided at an upper portion of the water tub to supply water to the water tub 20. A water supplying valve 12 opens/closes the water supplying pipe 11. A detergent supplying apparatus 13 connected to the water supplying pipe 11 allowing the supplied water to be mixed with a detergent. A water supplying hose 14 connects the detergent supplying apparatus 13 to the water tub 20 to guide the water and the detergent to the water tub 20. The water tub 20 is provided at a lower portion with a draining pipe 15 and a draining pump 16 disposed thereto so that a washing water may be discharged to an outside after a washing is completed.

The rotating tub 30 is provided at a center of a rear surface with a rotating shaft 43 of the driving motor 40, which will be described later. In addition, the rotating tub 30 is provided at an outer circumferential surface with a through-hole 31 for the water of the water tub 20 to be introduced to an inside the rotating tub 30. The rotating tub 30 is provided at an inside with a plurality of lifters 32 disposed thereto while being spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction thereof to lift a laundry to an upper side thereof.

The driving motor 40, as illustrated on FIGS. 2 to 3, includes a stator unit 41 installed on the water tub 20, a rotator unit 42 to rotate while interacting with the stator unit 41, and a rotating shaft 43 having one end thereof installed at the rotator unit 42 while the other end thereof installed at the rotating tub 30 after penetrating the rear surface of the water tub 20 so that the rotating tub 30 rotates along with the rotator unit 42. The driving motor 40 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, as described above, is implemented as an inner-rotor-type driving motor having the stator unit 41 provided with the rotator unit 42 disposed at an inner side thereof.

The stator unit 41 is formed in a shape of a ring, and is provided with a core 41 a having a plurality of core plates stacked up against against each other at an inside thereof. In addition, the stator unit 41 includes a plurality of teeth parts 41 b extended from an inner circumferential surface of the stator unit 41, and a coil 41 c formed by winding a wire around the each of the plurality of teeth parts 41 b.

The rotator unit 42 has the rotating shaft 43 fixed to a center area thereof, and the rotator unit 42 has a plurality of magnets 42 a disposed at an outer circumferential surface thereof to correspond to the each of the plurality of teeth parts 41 b of the stator unit 41.

In addition, as described above, the bearing housing 60 for the installation of the driving motor 40 is disposed at the rear surface of the rotating tub 30. The bearing housing 60 enables the driving motor 40 to be installed at the rear surface of the water tub 20, and at the same time, enables a bearing 70 to be installed thereto so that the rotating shaft 43 may be rotatably supported by the bearing 70. As illustrated on FIGS. 2 to 4, the bearing housing 60 is formed by integrally including a housing part 61 formed in a shape of a ring and provided with the bearing 70 installed at an inner circumferential surface thereof, a flange part 62 radially extended from the housing part 61 and provided with the driving motor 40 fixed thereto, and a fastening part 63 integrally and extendedly formed from the flange part 62 to a rear side thereof for the installation of the stator unit 41.

The rotation shaft 43 is installed while penetrating an inner side of the housing part 61. Two units of the bearings 70 are disposed at both sides of an inner circumferential surface of the housing part 61 so that the rotating shaft 43 is rotatably supported by the two bearings 70 at an inner side of the housing part 61.

The flange part 62 is integrally formed with a first reinforcing rib 64 integrally and radially extended from the housing part 61, and second reinforcing ribs 65 a and 65 b extended from the housing part 61 in a circumferential direction so that the strength of the flange part 62 is reinforced.

The first reinforcing rib 64 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is provided in plurality while being spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction. The first reinforcing rib extends radially outwards from the housing part 61 along the flange part 62. The second reinforcing ribs 65 a and 65 b are provided in plurality while being spaced apart from each other in the radial direction of the bearing housing 60. The second reinforcing ribs 65 a and 65 b connect the first reinforcing ribs 64 to each other so that the first reinforcing ribs 64 are supported to each other in the circumferential direction. The second reinforcing rib 65 b, which is formed at a periphery side among the second reinforcing ribs 65 a and 65 b, connects the fastening parts 63 to each other so that the fastening parts 63 are supported to each other in the circumferential direction.

The fastening part 63 is integrally formed in an extended manner from a rear surface of the water tub 20, and is provided in plurality while being spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction. Each of the fastening parts 63 is provided with a first fastening hole 63 a to which the stator unit 41 may be fixed through a fastening member such as a screw.

The driving motor 40 applied to the embodiment of the present disclosure, as described above, is an inner-rotor-type driving motor having the stator unit 41 provided with the rotator unit 42 disposed at an inner side thereof. Thus, the stator unit 41 is needed to have a large diameter, compared to a stator unit 41 applied to an outer-rotor-type driving motor that is being widely used in a conventional scope. Accordingly, the flange part 62 of the bearing housing 60, to which the stator unit 41 is fixed, is needed to have a large diameter to correspond to the size of the stator unit 41.

The fastening parts 63 according to the embodiment is integrally extended from the periphery of the flange part 62 to a rear side thereof so as to enable the stator unit 41 to be installed at the flange part 62 of the bearing housing 60 while maintaining the size of the flange part 62 at a minimum.

Meanwhile, the stator unit 41 is provided with a second fastening hole 41 d at a certain position of an outer side thereof corresponding to the first fastening hole 63 a so that a fastening member may be fastened to the first fastening hole 63 a by passing through the second fastening hole 41 d, and thereby the stator unit 41 is fixed to the bearing housing 60.

The bearing housing 60 described above is integrally formed with each parts thereof, that is, the housing part 61, the flange part 62, the first reinforcing rib 64, the second reinforcing ribs 65 a and 65 b, and the fastening part 63, through an injection molding and the like. The bearing housing 60 integrally formed is disposed at molds M1 and M2 that are configured to form the water tub 20, and is subject to an insert injection, thereby forming the water tub 20 having the bearing housing 60 at an inside the rear surface thereof.

The second reinforcing rib 65 b, which is formed at a periphery side among the second reinforcing ribs 65 a and 65 b, connects the fastening parts 63, which are spaced apart from to each other in the circumferential direction, so that the fastening parts 63 are supported to each other.

The water tub 20, as illustrated on FIG. 5, while in a state of the bearing housing 60 being disposed in between the two molds M1 and M2, is manufactured by hardening a resin after injecting the resin into a cavity formed in between the two molds M1 and M2 and the bearing housing 60.

The fastening part 63 provided at the bearing housing 60, in a process of molding the water tub 20 through the molds M1 and M2 as described above, enables the bearing housing 60 to be supported by one M1 of the molds M1 and M2, thereby preventing the bearing housing 60 from being moved in a process of resin being injected. However, in the case of the bearing housing 60 provided with the flange part 62 having a large diameter as above, the distance between the fastening parts 63 is large, and thus the bearing housing 60 may not be stably supported by the mold M1.

Thus, the fastening parts 63 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is provided at an adjacent area thereof with a supporting part 66 that has a shape of a ring as illustrated on FIG. 4, and is positioned in the same plane as the rear surface of the water tub 20. The supporting part 66 as such, as illustrated on FIG. 6, in a process of the bearing housing 60 being injection-molded at the water tub 20, enables the bearing housing 60 to be directly supported by the mold M1, which is for the molding of the water tub 20, through the surface of the supporting part 66, thereby preventing the bearing housing 60 from being moved by the pressure of the melting resin acting at an inside the molds M1 and M2, and thus forming the water tub 20 having the bearing housing 60 disposed at a precise position.

Although a few embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A washing machine, comprising: a body; a water tub installed inside the body to contain water; a rotating tub rotatably installed inside the water tub; a driving motor configured to generate a rotating force to rotate the rotating tub; and a bearing housing formed through an insert molding at a rear surface of the water tub and provided with the driving motor installed therein, wherein the driving motor includes a stator unit formed in a shape of a ring, a rotator unit disposed at an inner side of the stator unit to rotate while interacting with the stator unit, and a rotating shaft having one end thereof connected to the rotating tub while the other end thereof connected to a center of the rotator unit, and wherein the bearing housing comprises a housing part formed in a shape of a ring and provided with a bearing installed at an inner circumferential surface thereof so as to rotatably support the rotating shaft, a flange part extended from the housing part radially and outwardly and provided with the driving motor fixed thereto, and a plurality of fastening parts integrally extended from a periphery of the flange part to a rear side of the flange part and provided with the stator unit fastened thereto while being spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction.
 2. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of fastening parts is provided with a first fastening hole thereto for the fastening of the stator unit.
 3. The washing machine of claim 2, wherein the stator unit comprises a second fastening hole provided at a position corresponding to the first fastening hole.
 4. The washing machine of claim 3, wherein the fastening part is protruded beyond a rear surface of the water tub, and an adjacent area of the fastening part comprises a supporting part positioned in the same plane as the rear surface of the water tub.
 5. The washing machine of claim 4, wherein the supporting part is supported by a surface of a mold configured to form the water tub.
 6. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the bearing housing comprises a plurality of first reinforcing ribs extending from the flange part in a radial direction thereof.
 7. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the bearing housing comprises at least one second reinforcing rib formed at the flange part in the circumferential direction.
 8. The washing machine of claim 7, wherein one of the at least one second reinforcing rib is formed at a periphery side of the flange part to connect the fastening parts to each other so that the fastening parts are supported by each other.
 9. A washing machine, comprising: a body; a water tub installed inside the body to contain water; a rotating tub rotatably installed inside the water tub; a driving motor configured to generate rotating force to rotate the rotating tub, and a bearing housing integrally formed through an insert molding at a rear surface of the water tub and provided with the driving motor installed therein, wherein the driving motor comprises a stator unit formed in a shape of a ring, a rotator unit disposed at an inner side of the stator unit to rotate while interacting with the stator unit, and a rotating shaft having one end thereof connected to the rotating tub while the other end thereof connected to a center of the rotator unit.
 10. The washing machine of claim 9, wherein the bearing housing comprises a housing part formed in a shape of a ring and provided with a bearing installed at an inner circumferential surface thereof to rotatably support the rotating shaft, a flange part radially outwardly extended from the housing part, and a fastening part protruded from the flange part and provided with the stator unit fastened thereto.
 11. The washing machine of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of fastening parts is provided with a first fastening hole thereto for the fastening of the stator unit.
 12. The washing machine of claim 11, wherein the stator unit comprises a second fastening hole provided at a position corresponding to the first fastening hole.
 13. The washing machine of claim 10, wherein the bearing housing comprises a plurality of first reinforcing ribs extended from the flange part in a radial direction thereof.
 14. The washing machine of claim 10, wherein the fastening part, which is provided in plural, is protruded from a periphery of the flange part to a rear side thereof while being spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction of the flange part.
 15. The washing machine of claim 14, wherein the bearing housing comprises a second reinforcing rib extended from the periphery of the flange part in the circumferential direction so that each of the plurality of fastening parts is supported to each other in the circumferential direction.
 16. The washing machine of claim 10, wherein the fastening part is protruded from the rear surface of the water tub, and an adjacent area of the fastening part comprises a supporting part positioned in the same plane as the rear surface of the water tub so that the supporting part is supported by a surface of a mold configured to mold the water tub.
 17. A washing machine, comprising: a body; a water tub installed inside the body to contain water; a rotating tub rotatably installed inside the water tub; a driving motor configured to generate a rotating force to rotate the rotating tub; and a bearing housing formed through an insert molding at a rear surface of the water tub and provided with the driving motor installed therein, wherein the bearing housing comprises a housing part formed in a shape of a ring to house the bearings, a flange part extended from the housing part radially and outwardly and provided with the driving motor fixed thereto, and a plurality of fastening parts integrally extended from a periphery of the flange part to a rear side of the flange part and provided with a stator unit fastened thereto while being spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction, wherein the plurality of fastening parts protruded beyond a rear surface of the water tub, and an adjacent area of the fastening part comprises a supporting part positioned in the same plane as the rear surface of the water tub. 